GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Midas / Big O Tires Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a longer day. The car started off pretty sketchy but we worked hard on it and we did get it better. I think that at the end we were competitive and if we had had a better starting position, I think that would have helped us considerably. Without a doubt we still have work to do. I think the guys did a great job, everybody is working awfully hard. Sixteenth isn’t what we want, everybody knows that. We want to see progress and after Texas that is progress.”

·FAST FACTS: Was his fifth race here. He qualified 23rd but started 24th due to a 10-grid penalty for an unapproved engine change. The team constantly worked to improve the car with each stop and he finished 16th… Missed winning his first pole in 2008 by 2/10th of a second over a four lap average and started a career best second to Andretti in what was the first Andretti/Rahal front row since 1992 in Loudon, NH. Ran between second and fourth until L130 when he drove over “marbles” and lost control of his car after trying to go around the slower car of Manning. Retired in 25th place. Qualified 2nd in 2009 and briefly took the lead at the start but dropped to third by the end of the lap and ultimately finished fourth, his highest finish on an oval at the time. In 2010, he ran a partial season and did not race at Milwaukee. In 2011 he qualified 12th and finished 2nd. He qualified 17th, started 11th in 2012 after many ahead served an engine change penalty and finished ninth… His best finish this season issecond place in Long Beach and best start is 11th also in Long Beach… Is ranked 17th in series standings with 149 points.

JAMES JAKES, No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a disappointing day generally. We struggled with the balance of the car. We thought we had made some changes but it wasn’t quite where we wanted it to be so it was a long day. I’m looking forward to Iowa next week. I have always been pretty quick there so hopefully we can bounce back.”

·FAST FACTS: Was his third event here. He earned his best qualifying position at Milwaukee of 12th place and in the race, the team constantly worked to improve the car with each pit stop… He qualified 20th in 2012 and started 16th after engine penalties of others were served but retired in 21st after contact with Sato near the halfway point in the race. In 2011 he qualified 23rd and finished 15th– both years with Dale Coyne Racing… Two races ago in Detroit was a breakthrough event for Jakes as he earned his highest career start and finish in Dual 2 in Detroit of second place… It is his third season in the IndyCar Series and first with RLL. In 31 Indy car starts with Dale Coyne Racing from 2011-2012, his best finish was eighth at Toronto and series-best start of eighth was at Motegi… His best start to date this season is 2nd at Detroit Dual 2 and best finish is also 2nd in Detroit’s Dual 2 … Is ranked 15th in series standings with 149 points.

NEXT UP: The series will reconvene next weekend at Iowa Speedway for its seventh consecutive weekend of action. The Iowa Corn Indy 250 will mark thefourth event for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) at Iowa Speedway. The best finish for the team is third in 2007 by Scott Sharp who also earned the top start for the team of fourth the same year. Prior to the 2013 event, the team prepared a total of four entries for drivers Scott Sharp (2007), Jeff Simmons (2007), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2008) and Takuma Sato (2012).The team has earned ONE podium (3rd, Sharp 2007) and two, top-10 finishes at the track. The Iowa Corn 250 will be televised live by ABC at 2:30 PM (ET) on Sunday, June 23. It will also be broadcast by the IMS Radio Network on Sirius XM (XM 94 and Sirius 212). Timing and Scoring information is available for all sessions from www.indycar.com.